Labour Party (British political party)
The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1900 during the Trade Union movement. Its leader is Jeremy Corbyn, who won two leadership elections in 2015 and 2016. History The Labour Party was created in 1900 during the Trade Union movement and it's aim was to give working class people a voice. After World War 1, the decline of Liberal Party saw the rise in the Labour Party and they were becoming the main opposition in the house. However, their first governments were short. The Labour party went into a coalition with the Conservative party during the war and this meant that their leader, Clement Attlee, was the deputy to Winston Churchill. It was after WWII that Labour had it's real taste of power as they made a landslide victory in 1945 that shocked many across the country. In this Labour government, coal, steel and the railways were nationalised and the welfare state was created. Then, in 1951, Labour lost the election to the Tories and they were out of power for 13 years. It was only in 1960 when Harold Wilson was leader that Labour found itself in No. 10 again. Labour once again failed as the pound devalued and it lost support from the public and so the Tories were back in power. However, Labour's luck changed when in 1974 they won two elections in the same year. There were problems arising in the party such as the resignation of their leader and the economic crisis it was taking on. The 'winter of discontent' caused problems in the party and the unions. The Tories were back in power in 1979 and would stay there for 18 years. The Tories had won 4 elections in a row and the party went through its bleakest and toughest times. Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock, John Smith were Labour leaders in this time and, slowly, they brought Labour back from massive election defeats. After the sudden heart attack of John Smith, a man set to be the next PM, Tony Blair won the leadership contest. Blair repositioned the party as centre-left and left the old ways of Labour behind. New Labour was born. Blair became popular with the public, following allegations of 'sleaze' about Tory MPs, and won a landslide victory in 1997. Labour faired well and once again won a majority at the 2001 election. The Iraq war overshadowed the 2005 election and so Labour won by only a small majority. More troubles followed and, in 2006, Blair stood down as Labour leader and Prime Minister. Gordon Brown, his chancellor, became the new Prime Minister. Brown also faced pressure such as the new, youthful Conservative leader David Cameron; the economic crash; bad local election results; the MP expenses scandal and so in 2010 he lost the election to Mr. Cameron. In the contest for Labour leadership Ed Miliband won (he went up against his own brother who looked set to win) and campaigned heavily in the run up to the 2015 election. He lost the election and faced one of the biggest defeats in Labour history. Some put this down to small parties gaining support such as UKIP and SNP as well as a public dislike for Miliband. He resigned. In the 2015 leadership election Jeremy Corbyn won with over 59% of the votes. Tom Watson became the deputy leader. Category:Political Parties Category:United Kingdom Politics Category:Labour Party